Contactless Applications Research Articles

Completely Contactless and Online Finger Knuckle Identification for Real World Applications

Completely contactless and at-a-distance personal identification provides enhanced user convenience, and improved hygiene and is highly sought under the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper proposes an accurate and generalizable deep neural network-based framework for the ‘completely’ contactless finger knuckle identification. We design and introduce a new loss function to enable a fully convolutional network to more effectively learn knuckle features that are imaged under at-a-distance imaging. A ‘completely’ contactless system also requires efficient online finger knuckle detection capabilities. This paper, for the first time in our knowledge, develops and introduces accurate capabilities to efficiently detect and segment finger knuckle patterns from images with <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">complex</i> backgrounds as widely observed in real-world applications. We introduce angular loss to accurately predict oriented knuckle patterns and incorporate into our framework. Experimental results presented in this paper on five different public databases, using challenging protocols and cross-database performance evaluation, illustrate outperforming results and validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for completely contactless applications.

Examining the Effect of Customer Perceived Health Risk and Acceptance on Contactless Hotel Application Usage During the Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this study looks at the effects of contactless hotel applications, how customers accept them, and what they think the health risks are. The hotel business is part of the hospitality industry, which focuses on giving people places to stay. In recent years, more and more people around the world have started to see travel as an important part of their lives. The global hotel and resort market was worth 1.21 trillion US dollars in 2019. This is a reasonable drop from the 1.24 trillion US dollars it was worth the year before due to a pandemic announced by the World Health Organization (WHO). So, there needs to be a new way to stay in business so that people can try out new business ideas during COVID-19 and the social distance. So, two research questions were made, the first of which will look at how contactless hotel apps affect how customers feel about them. Also, the second question will look at how customers' perceptions of health risks affect the relationship between contactless applications and customers' acceptance of them.

Wearable Capacitive Pressure Sensor for Contact and Non-Contact Sensing and Pulse Waveform Monitoring.

Sensitive and flexible pressure sensors have invoked considerable interest for a broad range of applications in tactile sensing, physiological sensing, and flexible electronics. The barrier between high sensitivity and low fabrication cost needs to be addressed to commercialize such flexible pressure sensors. A low-cost sacrificial template-assisted method for the capacitive sensor has been reported herein, utilizing a porous Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer and a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite-based dielectric layer. The sensor shows high sensitivity of 2.42 kPa−1 along with a low limit of detection of 1.46 Pa. The high sensitivity originates from adding MWCNT to PDMS, increasing the composite polymer’s dielectric constant. Besides this, the pressure sensor shows excellent stability at a cyclic loading of 9000 cycles, proving its reliability for long-lasting application in tactile and physiological sensing. The high sensitivity of the sensor is suitable for the detection of small deformations such as pulse waveforms as well as tactile pressure sensing. In addition, the paper demonstrates a simultaneous contact and non-contact sensing capability suitable for dual sensing (pressure and proximity) with a single data readout system. The dual-mode sensing capability may open opportunities for realizing compact systems in robotics, gesture control, contactless applications, and many more. The practicality of the sensor was shown in applications such as tactile sensing, Morse code generator, proximity sensing, and pulse wave sensing.

A New Enhancement Edge Detection of Finger-Vein Identification for Carputer System

Developments in multimedia and mobile communication technologies and in mobilized, personalized information security has benefitted various sectors of society, as traditional identification technologies are often complicated. In response to the sharing economy and the intellectualization of automotive electronics, major automobile companies are using biometric recognition to enhance the safety, uniqueness, and convenience of their vehicles. This study uses a deep learning-based finger-vein identification system for carputer systems. The proposed enhancement edge detection adapts to the detected fingers’ rotational and translational movements and to interference from external light and other environmental factors. This study also determines the effect of preprocessing methods on the system’s effectiveness. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system allows more accurate identification of 99.1% and 98.1% in various environments, using the FV-USM and SDUMLA-HMT public datasets. As results, the contribution of system is high accuracy and stability for more sanitary, contactless applications makes it eminently suited for use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Internet of robotic things: Design and develop the quality of service framework for the healthcare sector using CoAP

&lt;p&gt;The number of robotics used globally is gradually growing, according to a variety of research. They are becoming more and more popular in different workplaces, like manufacturing, distribution, medical conditions, military, inaccessible areas, etc. The internet of things (IoT) and robotics groups have until now been guided by a set of, but somewhat compatible, goals, which are mainly to help knowledge systems in the field of general sensing, tracking, and monitoring. Therefore, the development of an internet of robotic things (IoRT), which incorporates the outcome from both cultures, is progressively said to have a significant added benefit. Internet of robotic things, the intersection of the Internet of Things and robotics, is where self-sufficient machines will assemble information from various sensors and speak with one another to perform errands including basic reasoning. As the name suggests, IoRT is the combination of two front-line innovations, the internet of things and robotics. People can manage any electronic device in homes with IoT and can also be used in contactless applications in healthcare. The constrained application protocol (CoAP), for the management and control of a community of homogeneous sensor modules, has recently endorsed multicast communications in IoRT. It will boost connectivity performance, less power consumption due to data aggregation, and enhanced security features with DTLS security features for various applications for the internet of things. This paper presents an implementation of the CoAP framework on IoRT sky motes using the Contiki Cooja Simulator that will be a useful healthcare sector that will confirm their potential and therefore, new research directions are outlined&lt;/p&gt;

Contactless Technologies for Smart Cities: Big Data, IoT, and Cloud Infrastructures.

Intelligent systems are enhancing city environments and improving their overall performance in all possible aspects. Innovations in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the proliferation of big data, internet-of-things (IoT), and cloud (BIC) infrastructures revolutionize the existing agile city ecosystems while effectively addressing customers and citizens needs. In this paper, we address the technology-driven applications that are capable of influencing the existing city infrastructures during their transformation towards smart cities with contactless technologies. We present applications, design principles, technology standards, and cost-effective techniques that leverage BIC for contactless applications and discuss user interfaces deployed in smart city environments. We further discuss state-of-the-art sensing methods and smart applications that support cities with smart contactless features. Finally, a case study is reported on how BIC can assist in efficiently handling and managing emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design and Implementation of Deep Learning Based Contactless Authentication System Using Hand Gestures

Hand gestures based sign language digits have several contactless applications. Applications include communication for impaired people, such as elderly and disabled people, health-care applications, automotive user interfaces, and security and surveillance. This work presents the design and implementation of a complete end-to-end deep learning based edge computing system that can verify a user contactlessly using ‘authentication code’. The ‘authentication code’ is an ‘n’ digit numeric code and the digits are hand gestures of sign language digits. We propose a memory-efficient deep learning model to classify the hand gestures of the sign language digits. The proposed deep learning model is based on the bottleneck module which is inspired by the deep residual networks. The model achieves classification accuracy of 99.1% on the publicly available sign language digits dataset. The model is deployed on a Raspberry pi 4 Model B edge computing system to serve as an edge device for user verification. The edge computing system consists of two steps, it first takes input from the camera attached to it in real-time and stores it in the buffer. In the second step, the model classifies the digit with the inference rate of 280 ms, by taking the first image in the buffer as input.

The Government Perspective towards a Cashless Economy in Malta

Advancements in technology throughout the years have led to the emergence of cashless societies, in which most of the payments are conducted electronically. In Malta, the accessibility of different payment methods started to increase in 2013, when people started increasing their use of online payments, direct debit, and prepaid cards. Although these cashless systems are convenient and efficient, the Maltese population still use cash as their main payment instrument. Therefore, local banks started to make single payments easy by introducing contactless systems and mobile banking applications. The Government of Malta together with the Central Bank of Malta, are working to move towards a cashless economy which is accessible for everyone. This research focuses on the government’s perspective towards a cashless economy in Malta. The results show that a local cashless economy is achievable, but it is something that can be achieved over a longer length of time, rather than being a short term objective. The findings indicate that a cashless economy will have a positive effect on the Maltese economy, and further growth can be expected.

An ADPLL-Based PSK Receiver for VHBR 13.56-MHz Contactless Smartcards and NFC Applications

This brief proposes an all-digital phase-locked loop (ADPLL) used as the phase-shift keying (PSK) receiver for a very high bit rate of 13.56-MHz smartcards. A detailed implementation from system to circuit level is presented. This ADPLL-based PSK demodulator mainly consists of a high dynamic range time to digital converter (TDC) without pulse shrinking effect, a dual-path digital loop filter, and a fine resolution digital controlled oscillator based on capacitor division without dithering. This design is fabricated by GF CMOS 40-nm technology with a core area of only 0.035 mm2. The measurement results show low current consumption of 40 mA for phase locking and 70 mA for PSK demodulation with 1.2-V supply. Both integral non-linearity and differential non-linearity of our TDC are smaller than 0.6 LSB. This prototype can demodulate 8-PSK at a symbol rate of 6.78 MHz, corresponding to a data rate of 20.34 Mb/s, with an energy efficiency of 4.1 pJ/bit.

An innovative model of service delivery to improve standardisation and market integration: Extension framework for ISO 20022 card payments

This paper presents an innovative model delivering value-added services (VAS) on a multi-application card using both payment and VAS during the same payment transaction. The idea was born in the framework of the TITAN research project, with the aim of achieving a multi-application and multi-channel platform. Starting from EPAS protocol’s perspective to standardise electronic payments, the aim is to include VAS data management in the current financial messages. In order to improve the process of card payment transactions through the delivery of new VAS, cooperation between EPASOrg and TITAN’s team was established. This cooperation facilitated the examination and submission to ISO 20022 of data components related to the provision of VAS meeting the requirements of those new contactless applications developed during project activities. The latter result led a Change Request to ISO in order to allow the extension to VAS on standard ISO 20022 related to card payment. The innovative model proposed is validated through an example with reference to a transport service delivery, highlighting the full benefits of innovative and integrated payment services. The conclusion summarises the next steps and underlines possible implications for future business and technological developments.

Public Research Support for an Innovative Integrated Payment Model of Service Delivery

AbstractThis paper introduces an entrepreneurial innovation supported by public research. TITAN is an R&amp;D project funded by European Structural Funds with the National Operational Program for “Research and Competitiveness” 2007–2013 (NOP for R&amp;C). General purpose of TITAN project is to achieve a multi-application and multi-channel platform to manage value-added services (VAS) and e-payments. From the EPAS protocols perspective of standardizing the electronic payment, VAS data management will be included in the current financial messages (CAPE – ISO 20022). In order to improve the process of card payment transactions through the delivery of new VAS was born the cooperation between EPASOrg and TITAN’s team. This cooperation would facilitate the examination and submission to ISO 20022 of data components related to the provision of added-value services meeting the requirements of those new contactless applications developed in the framework of the project. This is the principal and most entrepreneurial innovation concentrated on the integration of payment and VAS that draws attention to a new model delivering the VAS on a multi-application device used by both payment and VAS, during the same payment transaction. The latter result has led a Change Request to ISO in order to allow the extension to the VAS on the standard ISO 20022 related to card payment. The innovative model proposed is validated through a sample scenario and, finally, the conclusions summarize the next steps and underlines possible implications for future business and technological developments.

Wireless Devices and Cryptography: About Digital Pickpocketing, Open Sesame and Tracking Paranoia

Abstract Wireless embedded devices are employed for access control, identification, and payments. Cryptographic mechanisms serve as a protection against ill-intended usage or unauthorizedly accessing secured data. By security-analyzing commercial products, e. g., electronic passports, the remote keyless entry system KeeLoq, a Mifare Classic based contactless payment system, and Mifare DESfire cards, various security vulnerabilities are revealed. At hand of real-world attacks, the implications of a key extraction for the data protection and security of the respective contactless applications are illustrated.

Neue Herausforderungen in der Netzsicherheit

Near Field Communication (NFC) based applications seem to be appealing in a world where everything moves away from plastic and contact based services. This project gives an overview on NFC and its implementation in mobile phones together with SIM based security features. Furthermore it presents mobile payment as one example of a SIM secured NFC based application on mobile phones, presents its architectures and concludes with some challenges that still need to be solved. 1 Near Field Communication Near Field Communication (NFC) is an international standard to transmit over very short distances (usually about 4cm). It supports three modes of communication: 1. Card Emulation: This mode is supposed to replace existing contactless applications like boarding passes, credit and debit cards, and public transport ticket. 2. Tag Reading: Location based services are a genuine application for tag reading based NFC. A tag will be shown at several location like on an ad. A reader such as an NFC based mobile phone is able read that tag and trigger an application or service (for instance access the mobile web page associated with that ad). 3. Peer to Peer: As the name suggests, the peer-to-peer mode allows to equal NFC endpoints to communicate and securely transfer content and data. The Nokia 5140 was the first mobile phones that came with an NFC reader [1]. Today, the most popular device with NFC is probably the Samsung Nexus S [2]. For the remainder of this paper, card emulation mode is assumed.

Design and development of a mixed signal prototyping system to achieve very high data rates for contactless applications

Contactless applications like ePassport (electronic passport) demand increased communication speed for higher volumes of exchanged data. Today, those passive applications are working at the carrier frequency of 13.56 MHz, as standardized in ISO/IEC 14443, including data rates up to 848 kbps. However, higher data rates are currently a field of research. For the investigation of very high data rates a mixed signal prototyping system is introduced, based on a new concept of a FPGA-based reader prototyping system. Moreover, an introduction to advanced demodulation methods for contactless transponder devices is given.

Smart cards in transportation systems lead the way

Public transport's launch of contactless technology in the 1990s was the first significant mass application of contactless smart cards. Today, with improved contactless applications and an increasingly large array of added-value commuter services, contactless transport's usage rate continues to surge in some of the world's largest cities. Olga Titova-Candel, product manager for Transport at Oberthur Card Systems examines the shape of things to come.

Performance modelling of micromachined sensor membranes coated with piezomagnetic material

Abstract In this paper we model the performance of piezomagnetically coated membranes for contactless sensor applications. When a mechanical stress (pressure) is applied to a membrane the piezomagnetic characteristic of the coating causes a change in its magnetic permeability. The membrane can then be coupled with a micromachined coil to form a cored inductor, the inductance of which will change as the permeability of the coating varies with the applied stress (piezomagnetic effect). The applied stress and magnetostriction of the coating also cause the distance between the coil and the membrane to vary, thus altering the inductance (geometric effect). We decouple these combined effects and compare their magnitudes. The piezomagnetic effect is found to be approximately two orders of magnitude greater than the geometric effect. The results demonstrate the feasibility of piezomagnetically coated membranes for remote sensing and show significant promise in the development of second-generation device concepts.